The Colorado Eagles hope to build some chemistry quickly this season with a lot of fresh faces on the roster. Departures from their offensive stars Alex Galchenyuk, Charles Hudon and Mikhail Maltsev all leave holes to fill. The acquisitions of Jack Ahcan, Caleb Jones, Tanner Kero and Joel Kiviranta will hopefully make up for losing the players. Friday night’s game marked the first meeting between the Eagles and the Grand Rapids Griffins since the Eagles joined the AHL in 2018.
First period
The Griffins struggled against the Eagles’ defense in the early stages of the game. Just seven minutes into the game, Austin Czarnik scored for the Griffins despite it being only the second shot on goaltender Trent Miner. Just three minutes later, Ivan Ivan attacked the man in the corner to steal the puck. Ivan tossed it over to Peter Holland in the low slot to take the shot and score the Eagles’ first goal of the season and tie the game at 1–1.
Here is the replay of the Holland goal, nice job coming from the corner to center ice. Ivan Ivan credited with the assist. #Avs #GoAvsGo #EaglesCountry @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/5uAU94oJTy
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) October 13, 2023
Second period
The middle frame became somewhat of an issue for the Griffins. They would have four penalties in the period to the Eagles’ one. Grand Rapids showed some much-needed change, however, as they could close the neutral zone a lot more. The second penalty in the period is where the Eagles’ power play clicked. They were nailing their passes and were more mobile in the offensive zone. Ahcan took the puck down low and sent it up to Brad Hunt on the blue line. Hunt faked a shot, passing over to Oskar Olausson in the left faceoff circle. Olausson sauced it across the slot to a charging Ahcan, who finished with a slapper for the goal.
Jack Ahcan gets the cross slot feed from Oskar Olausson for the PP goal and Brad Hunt credited w the secondary assist. #Avs #GoAvsGo #EaglesCountry @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/nrWaTBxisA
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) October 14, 2023
Third period
Things went right for the Griffins in the last frame. Right from the first face-off, Albert Johansson passed the puck to Taro Hirose as he headed toward the Eagles’ zone. Hirose easily made it around Sam Malinski to chip it past Miner and tie the game at 2–2. The final Colorado penalty by Olausson would cost them the game. Hirose struck one more time as he gathered up a rebound from a Jonatan Berggren shot off of Miner’s left leg pad. Miner lost track of where the puck was and Hirose easily slapped the Griffins’ third goal in.
Analysis
The first game of the Aaron Schneekloth era was a blast to watch. Colorado played a very defensive-heavy game, and it worked for most of the night. They could push forward, yet stop their opponents in the neutral zone. Ahcan joining the power play will add speed and help maintain the line. Despite their 3–2 loss, Colorado will face Grand Rapids again on Saturday night.